Hey!! I am too.... i appear to be doing the same in both.... 76% in both the mocks but i struggle a lot more with philosophy (though that might be the teachng style). Am i weird that i like meta ethics?? just wondering if anyone else does because everyone else in my class think i'm a freak!!

Me too, and also wondering which topics are likely to come up. Last year I used student room for AS and just revised the topics everyone said would come up - got 100% in both so I think its a technique which could be beneficial. It helps if anyone knows the topics that have come up in the last 3 or 4 exams - obviously the ones that have come up several times consecutively are unlikely to come up again. Got 4 exams in one day on the 13th. Loving life.

just found this, these are the questions that came in Jan 2010 and the specimen:

Specimen:
1. Evaluate the claim that corporate religious experience is no more than an illusion
2. Critically assess Dawkins claim that since life is no more than DNA reproducing itself there can be no life after death.
3. 'If God knows what we are going to do he has no right to reward the good and punish the wicked' Discuss
4. Critically compare the use of symbol with the use of analogy to express human understanding of God

Jan 2010:
1. Critically assess the philosophical problems raised by the belief that God is omniscient
2. Evaluate the claim that belief in miracles leads to a belief in a God who favours some but not all of his creation.
3. Evaluate the claim that there can be no disembodied existence after death
4. Critically assess the views of Paul Tillich on religious language

It was on another forum, it's a bit old now though - it is likely that these topics could come up again unless they were in the subsequent June (2010) and January (2011) exams.

My teacher is so rubbish, she never turns up and hasn't taught us half the topic SO
do you think it will be okay to miss out Meta Ethics and Conscience in Ethics ?!
Seeing as we only need to answer 2 questions out of 4!
Basicly, is there any chance that 2 meta ethics questions will come up? or 2 conscience questions???

1. Evaluate the claim that analogy can be a successful way to express human understanding of god
2. "Boethius was successful in his argument that god rewards and punishes justly" Discuss
3. Critically assess, with reference to William James, arguments from religious experience
4. To what extent is a belief in an afterlife necessary in solving the problem of evil?

Is this all we need to know on miracles (self teaching here so please help )
- Hume's definition
- Holland's definition
- Purpose of miracles
- One or two examples from Bible (Joshua 10, Water --> Wine, Walking on water, Resurrection)
- Doubting existence of natural laws / acknowledging we don't know all of them --> thus miracles might not exist
- Hume's criticisms of miracles

1) Insufficient number of reliable witnesses
2) People are drawn to the unusual and put reason on the side --> making them susceptible
3) miracles are from uncivilised societies
4) multiple faiths all claim their miracle stories are true

I know this is kinda off-topic, but I'm taking philosophy and ethics next year(as my fourth subject) and I was wondering; how did you guys find it? On a scale of 1-10, how hard did you find it? and how relevant do you thing it is to medicine?

And Good Luck with your exams! A2 seems so much harder than GCSEs (which I assume it is )

(Original post by Oxbridge-Rawr)
I know this is kinda off-topic, but I'm taking philosophy and ethics next year(as my fourth subject) and I was wondering; how did you guys find it? On a scale of 1-10, how hard did you find it? and how relevant do you thing it is to medicine?

And Good Luck with your exams! A2 seems so much harder than GCSEs (which I assume it is )

My hardest subject, very enjoyable if you like debating, problem solving and 'big ideas'. Very relevant to medicine in terms of ethics. It's a great arts contrast if your doing a lot of sciences (presumably for medicine) and apparently helpful for interviews.

(Original post by Oxbridge-Rawr)
I know this is kinda off-topic, but I'm taking philosophy and ethics next year(as my fourth subject) and I was wondering; how did you guys find it? On a scale of 1-10, how hard did you find it? and how relevant do you thing it is to medicine?

And Good Luck with your exams! A2 seems so much harder than GCSEs (which I assume it is )

I'm a medic applicant (taking bio/maths/chem/rs) and find it to be my easiest subject, but also my favourite and most interesting. It isn't really directly relevant to medicine content-wise apart from perhaps touching a bit on IVF treatments. Though, most importantly, it equips you with the ability to critically analyse and communicate arguments cogently. Obviously this could be done via English Lit/History too but RS allows a greater emphasis on the nature of the argument rather than the content. While not directly relevant to medicine, it allows for a lot of scope to transfer and apply skills but at the end of the day, it is what you make of it. It will neither advantage or disadvantage you as a subject on its own.